1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing trichlorosilane which converts silicon tetrachloride into trichlorosilane.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-057449 filed on Mar. 15, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Trichlorosilane (SiHCl3), which is used as a raw material for the production of silicon (Si), can be produced by conversion through a reaction of silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) with hydrogen.
That is, silicon is produced in a reductive reaction and a thermal decomposition of trichlorosilane represented by the following reaction formulas (1) and (2). Trichlorosilane is produced in a conversion reaction represented by the following formula (3).SiHCl3+H2→Si+3HCl  (1)4SiHCl3→Si+3SiCl4+2H2  (2)SiCl4+H2→SiHCl3+HCl  (3)
As an apparatus which produces trichlorosilane, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 3781439 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application First Publication No. 2004-262753, a reaction container is suggested in which a reaction chamber is designed as a double chamber having an outer chamber and an inner chamber by two pipes which are concentrically arranged, and a heating element is arranged around the outside of the reaction chamber. In this reaction container, the heating element formed from carbon or the like produces heat by applying a current and heats the inside of the reaction chamber from the outside, whereby the gas within the reaction chamber is made to react.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application First Publication No. 2008-133170 suggests an apparatus for producing trichlorosilane in which a reaction container is constituted by a plurality of concentric cylindrical walls and a disc which closes the upper and lower sides of the small spaces between these cylindrical walls, the respective small spaces are made to communicate with each other continuously, and used as a reaction chamber, and a heating element is provided inside the cylindrical wall at the innermost circumferential position.
Japanese Examined Patent Application Second Publication No. S60-49021 discloses an apparatus of the structure in which a plurality of tubular heaters is arranged in a reaction chamber, and gas is directly heated within the reaction chamber and the heaters.